-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When news broke that six e-mail accounts belonging to members of the Bush family were hacked and some of the contents posted online , reactions ranged from being offended to amusement .

Many people objected to the leak of family exchanges reflecting contingency planning for the funeral of President George H.W. Bush . If ever a family deserves privacy , it is when dealing with the death , or impending death , of a loved one .

Others seized on the semi-nude bathing self-portraits of President George W. Bush to resume ridicule not seen since he left office .

And virtually everyone took the episode as a warning that `` this can happen to you . ''

The Bush family email hack comes on the heels of reports of hacking at universities and major newspapers , and it follows urgent government warnings against our fragile cybersecurity defenses .

So , do the average users of online e-mail and Web services simply have to assume that hacking will expose their personal messages and photos ? Not necessarily .

The recent spate of security breaches and the attention focused on them will mean that government and businesses will up their game even more to secure our information infrastructure . But the security reinforcement might take time .

In the meantime , people have options to protect their information and themselves . Privacy and data security is a shared responsibility , after all , and users have a role to play .

Some Web-based e-mail services like Google 's Gmail offer tools to add an extra layer of protection . Gmail offers a two-step verification to add an extra layer of security .

Such protection erects a double gate against unwanted interception . Through two-step verification , in addition to user name and password , you enter a code that the e-mail provider will send via text , voice call or on a mobile app .

Two-step verification drastically reduces the chances of someone stealing the personal information from your e-mail account because hackers would have to not only get a password and your user name , they would also have to have access to the mobile phone to which the code is sent .

And while you are taking steps to secure your e-mail , you would be well-advised to make sure your WiFi connection is secure .

Wireless routers are ubiquitous , allowing you to share your internet connection and files around the house . But without securing your router , anyone within range can access the websites you visit and may be able to access your personal information . Securing your WiFi router with a password is an easy step to take , and it is often overlooked .

If you want to get a little more technical , take a look at whether the website you are using to transmit information is using HTTPS -- hypertext transfer protocol secure . HTTPS encrypts your data so that it can not be intercepted during transmission .

You will find that your banking transactions almost always will be conducted through the HTTPS protocol . For an extra level of security , check to see if other websites you use offer HTTPS for transmission .

So instead of throwing up your hands that Web-based e-mail and online data transfers can never be secure , seek out and use the security tools that already exist .

And no matter what your political persuasion , thank the Bush family for the wake-up call .

The opinions in this commentary are solely those of Christopher Wolf .

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Bush family e-mails were hacked , private contents posted online

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Chris Wolf : Many offended , some amused , but all concerned about privacy

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Wolf : Users have options already established to protect private information

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Wolf : Use password for WiFi , use two-step verification for e-mail